Juan Larrea Celayeta (1895-1980) was a Spanish writer, outstanding in the genres of poetry and essays, whose work was produced mainly during exile. His poetic production was characterized by being framed within the Avant-garde current.
Regarding Larrea's work, Max Aun commented at that time that the writer was “the purest exponent of the isms in Spain". Larrea's literary creation was also linked to ultraism, surrealism and creationism, a product of the experiences obtained in his travels through Europe and Latin America..
Most of Juan Larrea's poetic work was written in French, due to the poet's ease with the Gallic language and the influence of the environment during his stay in France. Although his literary creation was profuse and profound, it was initially ignored in Spain, even when Gerardo Diego made an effort to translate it and make it known..
Despite the fact that many specialists strive to include his work within the growing group of authors of the Generation of 27 and the surrealist current, Larrea himself expressed that what best fit his literary form was the label of ultraist.
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Juan Larrea Celayeta, as was his full name, was born in Bilbao, Spain, on March 13, 1895. His parents were Francisco Larrea and Felisa Celayeta, a Basque and a Navarrese of wealthy economic position and very believers. The writer had a total of six siblings.
The comfortable economic position of the family allowed them to guarantee the writer a good education. During the first years of his life, he was sent to live with Micaela, his aunt, in Madrid. The young man lived in the Spanish capital until 1902, when he returned to Bilbao with the aim of being enrolled in the Pious Schools to study..
Later, the young Larrea entered the Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones for basic school, while he attended high school in Miranda de Ebro.Trass having studied there, the poet attended the University of Deusto, where he studied philosophy and letters.
In 1921 Larrea made a trip to Madrid, where he worked in the National Historical Archive. It was during this period that he met Vicente Huidobro and Gerardo Diego, achieving a great friendship with both of them. After a few years the poet traveled to France and settled in the capital.
While in Paris, Larrea had direct contact with the works of the avant-garde current, very particularly with those concerning the Dada movement and the Surrealist movement..
The influence of the Avant-garde did not take long to be noticed in the literary performance of Larrea, who in a short time in the French capital began to write continuously. It was not difficult for the writer to become familiar with the French language, much less to write in that language, in fact, much of his poetic work was written in Gaulish.
Among the writers Larrea had contact with during his stay in Paris was César Vallejo, a poet for whom he had special admiration. Both, in 1926, founded the magazine Favorable Paris Poems.
In 1929, three years after founding his first magazine, the young poet married Marguerite Aubry. After their marriage, the newlyweds resided in Peru between 1930 and 1931.
Just three years after being married, the writer temporarily ceased his poetic production and preferred to devote himself fully to prose. However, thanks to the wisdom of his friend Gerardo Diego, his poems were translated into Spanish and published.
The publication of Larrea's poems were made in the magazine Carmen, also in the work Anthology (1932 and 1934), by Gerardo Diego, in honor of the Generation of 27. Thanks to Diego, Larrea's poetry had its place in Mexico, in the work Dark domain (1935).
The presence of the influence of ultraism, surrealism and creationism in Larrea's poetic work was notable, as well as a unique spark of creativity. Diego noticed it immediately, and that is why his interest in translating and perpetuating the writings of his friend.
After the victory of Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War, Larrea decided to go into exile in Mexico. In the Aztec country the poet directed the magazine Spain Pilgrim, and, in addition, he was in charge of founding the Spanish Cultural Board. There the poet, led by León Felipe, participated as a watchman in the projection of American Notebooks.
After spending a few years in Mexico, Larrea got divorced and moved to the United States, he did so in the mid-1940s. While on North American soil, he resided in New York, where he lived until the mid-1950s and then went to Córdoba, Argentina, where he served as a university professor until the end of his days.
After a productive life of poetic and essay creation, having been a participant in the founding of magazines and in the training of a considerable number of citizens, Larrea died in Córdoba. Death came from natural causes on July 9, 1980, at the age of 85..
It is due to José Fernández de la Sota one of the most important biographical works made on the life of this exceptional Spanish writer.
The style of Larrea's poetic and essay work, as he himself put it, is framed within ultraism. The author's use of metaphors was marked, as well as the elimination of any adornment that would hinder the development of the literary plot. Clean verses were sought, and direct lines.
Regarding the use of links and adjectives, Larrea tried to be as explicit as possible, but without abusing this resource. Less was more. The synthesis played a leading role, both in his poetry and in his essay, which facilitated the potentiality of the suggestive in his work..
There was a marked lack of rhyme in his poetic style, which was also characterized by bringing out the current, singing to everyday innovations, both technological and thought..
- Dark domain (Mexico, 1934).
- Celestial version (1970).
- Peruvian Art (1935).
- Surrender of Spirit (1943).
- Surrealism between Old and New world (1944).
- The Vision of the "GÜernica" (1947).
- The Religion of the Spanish Language (1951).
- The Sword of the Dove (1956).
- Reason to be (1956).
- César Vallejo or Latin America at the Cross of His Reason (1958).
- Teleology of culture (1965).
- From surrealism to Machu Picchu (1967).
- Güernica (1977).
- Heads and tails of the Republic (1980).
- To the love of Vallejo (1980).
- Rubén Darío and the New American Culture (1987).
- Poetic diary
- Orb (1990).
- Illegible, son of flute (1927-1928, it was a surrealist work believed to have been lost during the Cilvil War).
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